Spanish Getaway

        This remodel has been a series of small upgrades through the two years we've lived in our house. It started with the nook where we added a bench seat to an oddly shaped corner opposite of our kitchen.  We tried multiple types of tables and nothing seemed to really work in the space.  Finally we thought a built-in bench was the perfect solution for that space.

        We added some hand made seat cushions for the bench with extra padding to make it a comfortable place to sit.  The cover is made from a 3" foam pad found on Amazon which we cut to size.  The fabric cover has a zipper in the back to remove and easily throw in the wash.

        After a few weeks of using our new bench with a plastic folding table we decided it was time for our next project.  The table! We had a little bit of left over material from a project we worked on that used reclaimed Swiss Oak beams in the house.  We turned the left-over trash into treasure with this table by using the beams as our table legs. The base is made from 2x6 material in our side yard, tapered up to meet the beam and then stained a dark espresso finish.  The top of the table was actually made from the crate material that was used to ship the swiss beams.  This table is made from entirely reclaimed material that would have otherwise been trash and we love that!

        The top of the table was stained the dark espresso and then finished with 3 coats of tongue oil which gives it a nice soft sheen and really durable finish.  We use this table everyday and have had kids bang on it and cups spill and the tongue oil finish has really protected it.  We do anticipate having to re-finish it every few years but for the amount of use it gets, it's completely worth it!

        To complete the nook we decided to add a little warmth to the space by finding a dark but inviting paint color.  This color has become my new favorite and is called CityScape from Clark + Kensington.  In addition to this color we also painted the back of our stove wall in black chalkboard paint to allow us to write in daily menus and notes.  We added a painted black metal shelf above the stove to put all of our favorite oils and spices. 

        We continued our kitchen project a few months later by adding a new backsplash and updating the upper cabinets.  The existing uppers were set so low to the countertop that every time we opened them they would knock things off the counter.  It was extremely frustrating to say the least.  We were gifted two upper cabinets with glass doors that were left over from another remodel.  They were originally stained a dark finish so we decided to re-use the cabinets and paint them to match our current kitchen.  We removed the existing cabinets and replaced them with the new glass ones which also opened up the center sink area nicely as well. 

        Once we finished up with the cabinets we realized that we were missing some extra flavor on the backsplash.  We happened to have a pile of bricks that we collected from a historic school house in New Castle and thought this is the perfect opportunity to bring in some character and color.  The bricks however were full size and that would take up too much space on the wall.  By cutting down the bricks to a thin brick size about 1/4-1/2" thick we were able to apply it like a tile and then add mortar in between and a little over the top for the antique texture.

        We added a thick floating wood shelf above the sink which was also leftover from a construction job B had done in Aspen.

        All of the items that we used in the kitchen were reclaimed except for the paint and stain.  We love finding ways of creating beautiful spaces with things collected or recycled and knowing that our kitchen has a history and story behind it.  From the 17th century beams on our table to the historic school house bricks on the wall, every material continues to make history. 

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